


Guy from the Sidewalk

by monkeyihihji



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Based off the song Girl from the Sidewalk by Noah Floersch, Bumped into each other, I also wrote it fast, M/M, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Study Groups, i wrote this instead of working, note passing, searching for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27636653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monkeyihihji/pseuds/monkeyihihji
Summary: Dear Guy from the Sidewalk,This is sorta a longshot, but I saw you just on Tuesday and I definitely regret not saying something to you. Maybe fate will bring you to this note and you could respond or something? Maybe a phone number and name?-Barefoot Guy
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 1
Kudos: 122





	Guy from the Sidewalk

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't my normal length or quality, but I listened to this song and I couldn't get this scene out of my head so I typed this up today!

Stiles’ feet were cold as he walked barefoot on the sidewalk, but he didn’t really have the time to stop and shove on his socks and shoes. He was already late to Philosophy 203 and he didn’t want to waste anymore time considering it was his favorite class. He would have a chance to put them on once he was in class. Even though his notebook was filled with pictures he drew, he picked up the pace slightly at the thought of missing the start of a noteworthy lecture from his Professor. 

Another breeze hit his bare arms and he definitely regretted that he forgot to grab his plaid shirt resting on the edge of his bed. How silly did he look right now? In a cutoff t-shirt, his hair sticking up everywhere like a birds nest, and his socks and shoes off. Oh! And how could he forget the god awful fanny pack that his Dad got him from the zoo. It was easier to hold his phone and keys in rather than his pockets, okay! It definitely wasn’t the appropriate clothes for September, but he wasn’t expecting it to only be 45 degrees outside--Scott also should’ve told him something before Stiles was already halfway out the door. 

Despite his odd appearance, he couldn’t help but smile as one of his favorite songs came in through his headphones. Everything was good. Everything was actually really good. He was living his best college life with his best friend as a roommate and his hometown just a few hours away. His classes weren’t too difficult and he had a friend group that all got together to study--or cheat off of Lydia’s notes--every Thursday at the campus coffee shop. 

Stiles did a little half-bounce trying to get his backpack to readjust on his back, but it didn’t really work and all his backpack did was sag heavier against his back. His Dad’s voice echoed in his head reminding him that he needed to adjust the straps and he would’ve stopped to fix it, but again, he was running late. He rounded the corner with his mind wandering about his different Dad lectures and what type of coffee he was going to get at the weekly study session when his eyes landed on a guy that almost made Stiles’ pace stop. 

The guy had on a leather jacket, a white shirt to match it, and grey sweatpants. His shoe game was rocking too with some pretty nice sneakers. His hair was windswept almost perfectly and he had some killer eyebrows. He was just standing up from one of the benches as he put a book in his bag. 

Stiles didn’t stop fully, but he did slow his pace as he realized how stupid he looked in his cropped shirt compared to this full on Adonis. It was just his luck that this was the time that he almost dropped his shoes and he let out a little cry as he fidgeted to rearrange them in his arms. It lasted only a second or two and then he was back staring at the Mystery Man and of course it was at that moment the guy looked up and locked gazes with Stiles. Great. He was probably thinking that Stiles was staring at him, which, yeah. Okay. Stiles was definitely staring. 

It wasn’t like he planned on staring though. His eyes were just wandering around and of course they decided to just land on this guy. Stiles honestly felt extremely nervous as the guy started walking his way and he looked anywhere but the stranger as they both kept walking. He should say something though, right? Like maybe hi? Or maybe he should explain the whole staring thing? He went to say something, anything, but his jaw seemed to be stuck and it didn’t want to work. 

God, the closer the guy got though, the cuter he got and Stiles definitely wanted to say something, but he was getting the slight vibe that maybe the stranger didn’t want that. The guy wasn’t doing anything specific to attract Stiles’ attention so maybe he shouldn’t say anything. That was a good plan. Yeah, because he was now thirty seconds later for class, but that felt like the least of Stiles’ worries. Right now, the only thing he wanted was this stranger’s name. 

Stiles focused hard on not looking at the guy as they walked past each other on the sidewalk, except he nearly jumped out of his skin when their shoulders brushed together. The stranger definitely wasn’t as tall as Stiles had originally thought, which kind of made Stiles feel good in a weird way because he wasn’t super tall either. But their shoulders. Their shoulders touched. That was a flirtatious move, right? 

Without even thinking, Stiles looked back. He wasn’t sure why, maybe to double check that the stranger was real? Or the shoulder touch definitely happened. He wasn’t expecting the guy to be looking back at him though. He also totally wasn’t ready for the smile that stretched across the stranger’s asymmetrical face. 

Time felt like it completely stopped as Stiles memorized the bright green of the stranger’s eyes. There was no class to get to. No campus surrounding the two of them. It was just Stiles and this guy that he desperately wanted to get to know after just thirty seconds of staring. Now was the time to say something. Stiles was sure of it, but he could barely even control his mouth into a smile so how was he supposed to move his jaw to actually form words? The moment couldn’t last forever though and the stranger turned around and walked away, leaving Stiles stunned, barefoot on the sidewalk. 

  
  


Stiles couldn’t stop thinking about the stranger all day. He was definitely late to class and while it seemed like a good lecture, he couldn’t focus on it. Instead, he stared at everyone in the classroom to see if was his mystery guy. In fact, he did that for the two other classes he had for the day. He was disappointed every time when he didn’t see the bushy eyebrows. 

It was silly, really. Stiles wasn’t the guy to develop a crush so quickly, but here he was fantasizing about what he would’ve said to the guy on the sidewalk. His mind kept replaying the smile over and over again and it brought up warm butterflies in his stomach. He felt as though he stumbled upon something great and he let it walk away so quickly. 

He had told Scott as quickly as he could when they both were out of separate classes and his best friend had smiled fondly and put his arm around Stiles before saying that Stiles was an idiot for not saying anything. They spent the rest of their time together creating an elaborate plan to find the stranger again. Okay, it wasn’t so it wasn’t too elaborate; all it required was Stiles to take the same route every morning until the guy showed up, but after one morning of waking up entirely too early to see no one and another that made him late to class again, he quickly gave up on the idea. Obviously the mystery man was just a random blip in Stiles’ routine. 

A random blip that somehow kept shoving his way into his mind and causing him to only focus on those green eyes and smile. It must’ve been pretty obvious though because on Thursday evening’s study session, everybody noticed Stiles’ faroff look and they were instantly curious. 

“Okay, Stiles. What is it? Usually you are complaining about studying by now.” Lydia was the first one to say anything. She was also the one, besides Scott, who knew him the longest and she was worried about the distant look on her friend’s face. 

“Yeah. You didn’t even argue with us when we told you to get decaf.” Malia was the second one to say something. 

Stiles wasn’t going to say anything because that meant everyone was going to pressure him, but Scott beat him to it. “He met someone.” 

Issac laughed, “Oh my god. Stilinski finally found someone as weird as him?” 

“Issac!” Allison hit her boyfriend’s shoulder to get him to shut up. It was weird, just a month ago it was Scott and Allison together, but now it was Allison and Isaac along with Scott and his new girlfriend Kira. 

“No one.” Stiles mumbled as he took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. God, he wished it was caffeinated. 

“We don’t know.” Scott added and Stiles was seriously considering revoking the best friend label. 

Lydia put down her pencil and folded her notebook. Apparently studying subjects was over in favor of something far more interesting; Stiles’ love life. The last person he showed interest in was the redhead herself, but that ship had long since passed. “You met someone and you don’t know them?” 

Clearly he wasn’t going to get any studying done, not that he was actually trying in the first place though. “I walked by this guy Tuesday morning when I was late to class and I think we had a moment.” 

“You think?” Malia asked. 

“I mean, he looked really cool and I was kinda staring which was probably weird because I didn’t have my shoes on. But then we brushed shoulders as we walked by and he looked back and smiled at me.”

“Where were your shoes?” Kira finally spoke up. 

“In my hands.” 

“Why were--” Lydia shook her head, “Nevermind. Did you say anything?” 

Stiles put his head in his hands and rested his elbows on the table and shook his head. 

“Oh, honey.” Allison cooed. 

Issac huffed, “Wait, you didn’t say  _ anything _ ? That’s hard to imagine.”

Stiles ignored him. “I tried walking that same route too and I haven’t seen him again.” 

Lydia reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder which caused him to lift his head. She smiled warmly, “If it’s meant to be, you’ll see him again.” 

Everyone was silent for a moment before Scott nearly jumped out of his seat, “You could post it on the bulletin board!”

Stiles made a face. “Really?”

Ironically, the bulletin board in question was located in the very coffee shop they were sitting in. In fact, it was just across the small building on the wall in between two worn out red chairs. It wasn’t a main source of information, but occasionally people posted lost backpack notices or new events happening in the Commons. Stiles even looked at a few times for a part time job when college first started. It wasn’t a bad idea, but it was also extremely unlikely the mystery guy would even look at it. 

“It couldn’t hurt.” Scott added. 

Stiles looked to Lydia and she shrugged. “You might get lucky.” 

“It won’t work.” Malia crossed her arms. “No one ever really looks at that thing.” 

Stiles tapped his fingers against his cup for a moment as he thought about it. Excitement flooded his limbs as he imagined the mystery guy with the beautiful smile reading the note that Stiles would leave. Just like Scott said, it couldn’t hurt. He tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook and quickly wrote on the first few lines:

  
  


**Dear Guy from the Sidewalk,**

**This is sorta a longshot, but I saw you just on Tuesday and I definitely regret not saying something to you. Maybe fate will bring you to this note and you could respond or something? Maybe a phone number and name?**

**-Barefoot Guy**

  
  


“You’re really gonna do it?” Issac asked as Stiles stood up. 

He shrugged, “What do I have to lose?” 

“A piece of paper.” Malia said. 

Stiles rolled his eyes and walked over to the bulletin board. He wrestled with the idea of tearing the paper in half, but he didn’t. Maybe a mostly blank lined piece of paper would catch somebody’s eye and make them curious. Luckily, there was just enough space for his note, but unluckily, there wasn’t a tack to hang it from. 

“Great.” He mumbled to himself as he briefly contemplated stealing a thumbtack from another paper on the board. 

“Need help?” He turned around to see one of the server’s standing behind him looking over his shoulder at the bulletin board. She was usually there on Thursday evening’s and Stiles automatically recognized her as Erica. 

“Uh, yeah. Do you have a--” 

“Extra tack?” She interrupted. “Yes I do!” She searched in the pocket of her apron and pulled out a red one. “Will this work?” 

Stiles grinned as he took it, “Erica. You are a lifesaver.” He positioned the paper on the corkscrew board and pushed in the tack on the top of the page. 

“Just doing my job.” She smiled as she looked at his note. “Whatcha posting?” 

He felt his ears turn red instantly. God, maybe he should just download Grindr or something and hopefully find the guy there. “Just trying to find someone.” 

She paused and looked at him funny, “ _ You _ were shoeless?” 

“Yeah. I was late to class and didn’t have time to put on my shoes.”

It looked like she was trying to fight a smile, “And you’re trying to find a guy who saw you?”

“That’s what it says?” He double checked it just to make sure. 

“I hope it works out for you.” There was no denying that she was definitely trying not to smile. Great. She was trying not to laugh at him. 

“It’s stupid I know, but--” 

She shook her head, “No! No, I think it’s really cute. And who knows, maybe your guy will come in during the weekend and look at the board.” 

“Maybe.” Stiles said halfheartedly. He thanked her and headed back to the table. 

  
  


Stiles told himself that he wasn’t going to become obsessive over this. He was going to be extremely cool about it all and not even check his note until next Thursday. He definitely failed this goal and he found himself in the coffee shop the next morning checking to see if anyone had replied. And spoilers! There was no response. Then again, it was a Friday morning and it hadn’t even been up for twenty four hours. So he waited and checked again that evening. 

He also checked Saturday morning--yes, he got up early--and evening, but there was still nothing. His heart started to sink with the possibility that he wasn’t going to find this guy. Scott was a great best friend and tried distracting Stiles with food, video games, and even offered to get drunk with Stiles, but none of them distracted him for long. 

It was Tuesday--an entire week after his barefoot run-in and he had no new experiences with the guy from the sidewalk. Stiles got out of his Philosophy class, and against his better judgement, he made his way back to the coffee shop to check his note again. He already prepared himself for the disappoint of seeing no response, but to his surprise, he noticed something written right below his words: 

  
  


**Dear Barefoot Guy,**

**I remember you and your hands full of shoes. You had a fanny pack too, right? Fate is on your side--my friend told me about your note. What did you want to say?**

**-Guy from the Sidewalk**

  
  


Stiles stared at the note in awe. He blinked hard and opened his eyes again just to make sure he wasn’t imagining it. It was in nicer handwriting than his own blocky letters, but sure enough, there was a frickin’ response. His heart began to beat faster as he imagined the Adonis writing down the response. He had seen it. Oh my god. 

“You gonna write back?” Erica asked from behind him, causing him to jump. 

“I don’t even know what to say!” He probably said that too loud, but he didn’t care. Was he smiling? He couldn’t feel his feet, was that normal? 

  
Erica laughed and handed him a pen, “Maybe respond to his question?” 

“Right. Answer.” He took the pen, but honestly it felt like he was on autopilot. He stared at the words again and tried steadying his hand before writing back. 

  
  


**Dear Guy from the Sidewalk,**

**I wish I said something strong like “What’s up, baby” but I’m not that bold. It would’ve probably been something funny like “Call me, maybe”.**

**-Barefoot Guy**

  
  


He heard Erica stifle a laugh from behind him, but he was too happy to care. He ran out of the building, ready to call Scott, before he realized he still had her pen. He ran back in, handed it to her, and ran back out. 

Scott picked up on the second ring, “Yeeees?” 

“SCOTT! HE RESPONDED!” 

A few heads turned from people on the sidewalk to stare and Stiles let them. They definitely were not as happy as he was at this moment. He had reason to believe that no one in the world was probably as happy and excited as he was right now. 

“Holy shit. It worked?” Scott’s voice sounded excited through the speaker. 

“It frickin’ worked, dude.” 

“So, what did he say!? Did you get a name? Or a number? What about both?” Sometimes Stiles’ swore his best friend was a human reincarnation of an excited dog. 

“Neither. He remembers my fanny pack though!”

“God, who doesn’t? That thing is an awful shade of greens and oranges.” Scott paused, “So you still know nothing about this guy?”

Stiles frowned, “Not really. I should probably add to my response right? Ask for a name?” He had been too excited to even think about asking about any information. 

“Maybe wait and see if he responds again? He could just be nervous to drop his deets on a public bulletin board.” 

That was a good point and Stiles said so before hanging up on Scott. Despite the complete lack of any new information about his mystery guy, he still couldn’t help the small smile that was on his lips for the rest of the day. 

  
  


Stiles had expected that at least another week would go by before he heard back from the Guy from the Sidewalk, considering he waited all weekend for the first response. So this time, Stiles didn’t check every day like he wanted to. And trust him, he  _ really _ wanted to. He lasted about two days until he checked again right before the weekly study session, and to his surprise, he had another response.

  
  


**Dear Barefoot Guy,**

**I’m more old fashioned. I would’ve probably gone with “Hello Mister, how do you do?”**

**-Guy from the Sidewalk**

  
  


Stiles couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him as he read the message. He wouldn’t have assumed that such a hot guy that wears a leather jacket would be so old school, but it somehow seemed to work oddly enough. He imagined what would’ve happened if the guy actually said that almost two weeks ago. Stiles probably would’ve gotten all flustered, but it still would’ve been better than walking past each other and saying nothing. 

He pulled a random pen from his bag and stood in front of the bulletin board for a second, trying to figure out what to write back. He was appreciative for a moment that he chose to leave the full size sheet of paper up because it gave a chance for them to write back and forth. It didn’t feel like a good enough moment to reveal his name or ask for a phone number, so he decided to continue the flow of the conversation. 

  
  


**Dear Guy from the Sidewalk,**

**What about something really stupid? Like I got a drive by bow and arrow wound from Cupid.**

**-Barefoot Guy**

  
  


God. That really was stupid, wasn’t it? Stiles went to erase it but stopped when he rubbed the end of the pen against the ink. Shit. Why didn’t he write that in pencil!? Well, he either had to leave it or tear it down, and he really didn’t want to do that, so he turned around quickly and rushed to his group’s usual table. 

He made eye contact with Erica as he made his way over and she looked amused as she watched him. She had her phone out at an awkward angle too, like she got caught trying to--or maybe she already did, Stiles wasn’t for sure. Whatever she was doing though, she quickly put her phone down and waved at Stiles. Weird. 

“Any more information?” Lydia asked. 

He shook his head, “Nothing.” 

“Still must’ve been something since you blushed.” 

“Was everyone watching me?” He flung his hands around as he looked to the rest of the friend group. There was a chorus of affirmative replies and one “duh” from Malia. “Great. I even think Erica took a picture.” 

“You’ll probably be the new campus meme; can’t wait to see what people post with it.” Issac slid into his seat followed by Allison. 

“Not helpful!” She told her boyfriend, “But probably true.” She eyed the barista. “I wouldn’t put it past Erica.” 

Stiles pulled out his laptop and notebook from his bag, “The reply was just kinda play off of a joke I wrote first.” 

“So he’s witty then! That’s a plus?” Bless her heart, Lydia was trying so hard. 

He nodded, “That’s a big plus. The only downside is I still know nothing about this guy.” 

“Maybe next time, dude.” Scott said as he squeezed Stiles’ shoulder. 

Stiles didn’t respond, but he hoped Scott was right. Instead, he focused on his Philosophy paper and tried to ignore the notes written just across the room. He’s not for sure how long he was typing for, he assumed at least an hour, before Malia left. Scott and Kira were next and Stiles had an inkling that they went back to the dorm room for some “alone time”. About thirty minutes after Lydia said goodnight, Allison and Isaac did the same, leaving Stiles alone at the large table. 

He didn’t mind though; he was on a roll with his paper and he was certain that if he kept going at this rate that he would be able to finish the assignment by midnight. Surprisingly, he wasn’t getting distracted by anything, if he was, he would’ve noticed a familiar leather jacket walk in and look at the bulletin board immediately. He also missed the way the guy moved over to the counter to talk with Erica who showed him something on her phone as she pointed in Stiles’ direction. 

If Stiles had noticed these things then maybe he wouldn’t have had a minor heart attack when someone tapped on his shoulder right when he was about to finish citing one of his sources. But he didn’t. so he nearly jumped out of his skin and he flipped around to see who was bothering him. 

“I thought maybe a little simple “hi” could work?” 

And there he was. The guy from the sidewalk was looking down at Stiles with the same green eyes that Stiles had memorized in thirty seconds from their last meeting. The same leather jacket. The same killer eyebrows. The only problem that Stiles had was that the dude was way more attractive that Stiles remembered. He found himself staring again and this time it was on purpose. The guy gave an awkward soft smile that seemed to snap Stiles from his thoughts and he cleared his throat. 

“It’s you.” Was of course the first thing that Stiles said. God. 

“It’s me.” 

Stiles found himself standing, “I have been looking for you.”

The guy laughed and it sounded absolutely beautiful to Stiles. “That’s funny, because I’ve been looking for you too. You think it would be easier to find a guy without shoes.” 

Stiles found himself laughing, “Glad to see you remember.” 

“Derek.” The guy--Derek--held out his hand. 

Stiles took the hand and couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Stiles.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Go listen to: Girl from the Sidewalk by Noah Floersch


End file.
